Current Minimum Wage
South Carolina minimum wage$7.25since July 24, 2009

State minimum wage

South Carolina minimum wage

$7.25 an hour as of September 2, 2026. Tipped cash wage $2.13.

  • The South Carolina minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, set by state law effective .
  • No increase is currently scheduled in South Carolina.
  • Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.13 in cash, with a tip credit of up to $5.12.
  • At $7.25 an hour, full-time work (2,080 hours) pays $15,080 a year before taxes.
  • South Carolina law bars cities and counties from setting their own minimum wage.

Tipped cash wage

$2.13
Tip credit up to $5.12

Youth / training

None
No state provision; federal FLSA youth opportunity wage rules apply to covered employers.

Next change

None scheduled
Set by statute; no indexing

Local rates

Preempted
S.C. Code 6-1-130(B) (2002 Act No. 243): a political subdivision 'may not establish, mandate, or otherwise require a minimum wage rate that exceeds the federal minimum wage rate'; contracts to which...

Coverage, exemptions, and history

Who is covered. South Carolina has no state minimum wage law; the federal FLSA minimum of $7.25 applies to FLSA-covered employers. LLR pages contain no minimum wage statement....

Tipped employees. Federal FLSA rules only (no state tipped provision); tipped employee = more than $30/month in tips.

Recent history. South Carolina has never enacted a state minimum wage; the federal rate has governed throughout.

DOL: 'Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.'

Statute. None (no state minimum wage statute).

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in South Carolina?

$7.25 an hour as of September 2, 2026, under state law effective July 24, 2009.

When does the South Carolina minimum wage go up next?

No increase is scheduled.

What is the tipped minimum wage in South Carolina?

$2.13 in cash plus tips; the employer must make up any shortfall to $7.25.

Do any cities in South Carolina have a higher minimum wage?

No. State law preempts local minimum wage ordinances.

Sources

  1. https://llr.sc.gov/wage/ official
  2. https://llr.sc.gov/wage/faq.aspx official
  3. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state official
  4. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped official
  5. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t06c001.php official
  6. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages

Checked 2026-09-02 against South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), Office of Wages and...; researcher confidence 0.90.